Penn State defeats men in hockey for 7th Gophers

Christian Sarlo and Chase McLane scored the only goals in the third set when Penn State beat the 7th Gophers 5-3 on Friday night at the 3M Arena in Mariucci.

“It was disappointing,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko said. “We handed over the game, and we’ve seen it for three Fridays in a row now.”

Junior striker Jaxon Nelson scored two power-play goals for Minnesota (7-6, 4-3 Big Ten) in a game with multiple lead changes.

Ryan Kirwan of Nittany Lions scored the first goal in the opening season, but Gophers tied the match to Matthew Knies with 32 seconds left in the match.

Nelson took the Gophers to a 2-1 lead in the second set, but Connor MacEachern and Ben Copeland reinstated Penn State’s lead by mid-3-2. Nelson’s second goal in the 1:02 midfield equalized the situation for 3-all.

Oskar Autio defeated Penn Statelle 32 (7-5, 1-5), Jack LaFontaine 16 defeated Gophers.

This was Minnesota’s sixth loss in the opening game of the series, and four of them have come home.